China was among the earliest civilizations to mint coins, with some specimens created more than two millennia ago. You aren’t likely to come across one of those outside of a museum. But even modern ...

Metal tool money, such as knife and spade monies, was also first used in China. These early metal monies developed into primitive versions of round coins. Chinese coins were made out of base ...

A coin shaped like a spade was used in China in the 6th Century BC. Although it may seem an unusual choice, it was a deliberate one. The thinking behind it was that an everyday tool of agriculture ...

The Chinese were the first to develop a monetary system. The earliest 'coins' reproduced familiar ... where knives were an essential tool and spade money from fertile agricultural regions.